Keep Autodom ticking over - AMWU

The car workers' union says the newly appointed administrator to collapsed car parts group Autodom should try to keep the business going.

Last Thursday, Autodom, which has seven factories in Victoria and South Australia, shut its doors standing down 400 workers.

It said it had been forced to close after the breakdown of negotiations with key stakeholders to ensure the company's operations were sustainable.

Macks Advisory was appointed as administrator on Sunday and will be taking over the running of the stricken group.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) says it is essential Autodom keeps operating because it supplies parts to Ford, Holden and Toyota on a just-in-time basis, in an industry that employs 200,000 people.

AMWU assistant Victorian state secretary Leigh Diehm says the union is working to make sure everything that can be done to keep work in Autodom, is.

"The decision to go into administration means we have to look at a range of options to keep things going," Mr Diehm said.

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He'll be talking to Work Place Relations Minister Bill Shorten about the support role the federal government can play as well as the Baillieu government in Victoria.

"We now all have a responsibility to explore the possibilities made available by the state of the company's management, including what financial arrangements there are to get back to work and make sure workers aren't simply blamed," he said.

Administrator Peter Macks said he is working through the financial positions of Autodom and will be talking with key players in the car industry, secured creditors, union representatives and government to assess available options.

"As voluntary administrators, we have taken control of the assets of the companies and begun the task of assessing the positions of each company," he said.

The risk now is that Holden and Ford will run out of parts by the middle of this week, with Toyota saying it could last until Christmas.

Earlier this year, Holden received a $275 million federal and state government assistance package to develop two new cars in Australia to ensure the future of its local manufacturing operations to at least 2022.